It’s been nearly three years since Portland captured a significant West Coast Conference win.

The Pilots will have to wait at least five more days, as it didn’t happen Saturday night when Saint Mary’s shut down Portland’s offense in a 72-63 win in Chiles Center.

After struggling in WCC play the past two years, the improved Pilots (9-7, 1-3) had a chance for a statement win against the Gaels (11-4, 2-1). But after a fast start, Portland faded, as former Jesuit star Stephen Holt scored 19 points to lead Saint Mary’s to the comeback win.

“Historically, Saint Mary’s is a winning program, and yeah, that would have been a good win for us,” said senior forward Ryan Nicholas, who led Portland with 12 points.

Instead, the Pilots must wait until Thursday, when their five-game WCC home stand concludes against No. 24 Gonzaga.

Portland coach Eric Reveno believes there are few easy outs in the WCC this season, so a win over Saint Mary’s or just about any league opponent would help provide the momentum the Pilots desperately need.

Saint Mary's 72, Portland 63

Next: Gonzaga at Portland, 8 p.m. Thursday, ESPNU

Although Portland is improved in many ways over its teams of the past two years, the bottom line is wins. The Pilots are 1-3 in league and have yet to play a WCC road game.

Nicholas says for the Pilots, it comes down to defense and rebounding. Neither was in Portland’s favor against Saint Mary’s, as the Gaels outrebounded the Pilots and shot a higher percentage.

“When we play defense and rebound, we’re very good. When we don’t, we’re not,” Nicholas said.

Saturday’s crowd of 2,304 included a significant following for Saint Mary’s. The Gaels have four Oregonians on their roster in Holt, Calvin Hermanson (Lake Oswego), Paul McCoy (Grant) and Garrett Jackson (Westview). Only Holt played, as Jackson is sidelined for a month with a knee injury, and Hermanson, a freshman, is expected to redshirt this season.

Missing for Saint Mary’s was coach Randy Bennett, who was serving the third of a five-game suspension as part of NCAA sanctions levied on the program for rules violations. Assistant coach Eran Ganot is serving as the interim head coach during Bennett’s suspension.

As the team’s senior point guard, Holt says his role is increased during Bennett’s absence.

“My leadership is going to be tested. Our overall leadership is going to be tested. As the senior point guard, it’s my job to be the coach on the floor,” Holt said.

That was apparent about six minutes into the game, when Portland bolted to a 15-8 lead, an opening stretch Holt called “terrible, just terrible.” The Gaels suddenly stopped Portland’s running game, and for the remaining 34 minutes, made the Pilots’ offense play half court basketball.

After starting the game making six of their first nine shots, Portland hit only 13 of 41 the rest of the game.

Holt triggered the Gaels’ comeback, scoring seven points during a 9-2 run midway through the first half that got Saint Mary’s back in the game. Holt scored 11 of his 19 points during the first half to lead the Gaels to a 39-33 halftime lead.

“Being a leader and a point guard, at that point I wanted to be aggressive,” Holt said.

Saint Mary’s started strongly in the second half, building a 52-41 lead with 13:02 remaining. But Portland tested the Gaels, running off nine consecutive points to pull to within 52-50.

The Pilots never got closer, as Brad Waldow and Holt combined to score eight consecutive points and rebuild the lead to 60-50 and only four minutes left.

Portland had four players score in double figures. Aside from Nicholas, Alec Wintering had 11 points, while Kevin Bailey and Bobby Sharp had 10 each.